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Tears and cheers at Royals FanFest

Royals FanFest in Bartle Hall was filled with mixed emotions on Friday. Fans were sad over the loss of Yordano Ventura but there was plenty of fun to be had and autographs to gather to help people look forward to the upcoming season.

Royals FanFest in Bartle Hall was filled with mixed emotions on Friday. Fans were sad over the loss of Yordano Ventura but there was plenty of fun to be had and autographs to gather to help people look forward to the upcoming season. Keith MyersThe Kansas City Star

Royals FanFest in Bartle Hall was filled with mixed emotions on Friday. Fans were sad over the loss of Yordano Ventura but there was plenty of fun to be had and autographs to gather to help people look forward to the upcoming season. Keith MyersThe Kansas City Star

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas says he’s ‘ready to go’ for 2017 season

Mike Moustakas can’t wait to return to competition after a knee injury ended his 2016 season in May, but he’s going to be smart about it.

“I’ll be ready to go,” Moustakas said. “We’ll take it slowly. The training staff will make sure I’m prepared for the season.

“But I don’t want to be ready to play in spring. I want to be ready for the (regular) season.”

That means returning to action with a plan for the number of plate appearances and games for Moustakas when spring training begins next month.

The Royals’ first spring training game is Feb. 25.

Moustakas had seven home runs in 27 games when he suffered the injury in a collision with outfielder Alex Gordon chasing a foul ball in Chicago against the White Sox and suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Gordon also suffered a broken bone in his right hand and missed a month.

Moustakas had surgery in June, returning to the Royals clubhouse in a bulky black brace that stretched from his thigh to the top of his ankle. He said then that he had not regrets about the play, one that displayed the effort that had become part of the team’s reputation built in their title years.

The injuries to a pair of cornerstone players set the tone for a season that didn’t match the previous two when the Royals won a pair of American League pennants and a World Series title. They finished 81-81 and third place in the AL Central.

“We had a lot of reasons why we were 81-81,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We had a lot of injuries we had to contend with last year.”

But Moose is back. He’s taken ground balls, and he’s been throwing, running, staying in shape.

“I’m feeling good,” said Moustakas, about to begin his seventh season, all in a Kansas City uniform. “Ready to play some baseball, man. Get to work again.”

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Tour Royals FanFest with Blair Kerkhoff

Kansas City Star sports writer Blair Kerkhoff toured the 2017 Royals FanFest on Facebook Live when it opened Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Watch some of the highlights of that tour, including a walk through of a memorial to pitcher Yordano Ventura who was killed in an accident in his home country, the Dominican Republic.

Kansas City Star sports writer Blair Kerkhoff toured the 2017 Royals FanFest on Facebook Live when it opened Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Watch some of the highlights of that tour, including a walk through of a memorial to pitcher Yordano Ventura who was killed in an accident in his home country, the Dominican Republic.

Monty Davis and Blair KerkhoffThe Kansas City Star

He postponed a visit with orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, who repaired the knee, to attend the services for Yordano Ventura in the Dominican Republic earlier this week.

Players who attended FanFest at Bartle Hall on Friday fondly recalled their former teammate who died in an car crash early Sunday morning. None spoke with more emotion than Moustakas.

FanFest “is kind of exactly what we needed, to be around each other,” Moustakas said. “We needed to see each other, bond, hugging and loving on each other.”